Jessica Lange believes the US has caught up with the UK in that there is no longer a “border” between television and film stars.

The Hollywood actress, 68, has enjoyed success on the small screen in recent years with her role in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story series, and now plays Joan Crawford in his new show Feud: Bette And Joan.

She said: “I think nine times out of 10, the better roles are actually on television now. Especially for women but maybe across the board.

“Twenty years ago it was kind of a stigma in the US to do television, you were either a film actor or a television actor.

“Now there’s no border any more which is great because that’s the way it’s always been in England.”

Feud: Bette And Joan, which is executive produced by Murphy, charts the rivalry between Hollywood divas Bette Davis and Crawford. Susan Sarandon plays Davis in the eight-part series, which is set to air on BBC2.

Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon in Feud: Bette And Joan (BBC/Fox)

Lange said: “I knew that it would provide a lot of opportunity and Ryan Murphy knows me well enough at this point to know what I like to do and what my strong points are as an actor and the kind of part that I gravitate toward.

“I trust him. I wouldn’t have been involved in television the way I am, I only did that because of him.”

:: Feud: Bette And Joan starts on BBC2 on Saturday December 16 at 9pm. The full series will be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer from 10.45pm that same evening.